


Mini Me

by honeypower



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2014-10-06
Packaged: 2018-02-20 04:13:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2414546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honeypower/pseuds/honeypower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi comes home to discover that Hanji has invited a strange guest into his place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mini Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crumbsfiction](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crumbsfiction/gifts).



It goes without saying that Levi was beyond confused when he unlocked his door, stepped into his small living quarters, only to find another him huddled in a corner of the room. A much younger version of himself, much dirtier and smaller, but unmistakably him. Before he could take off his boots or put down his bag, his eyes were fixed on the other pair of eyes across the room, his eyes. The boy was breathing, blinking and even moving slightly. What a clear hallucination, Levi thought to himself.  Even though the other him was only a boy of maybe five or six, there was already a hint of the hardness that would later settle in his eyes. His grimy hair reached his shoulders, his body was wiry and on the brink of malnutrition. The clothes were hardly clothes, more like tatters held together by sheer luck.

Levi decided to look away. Surely, this was just the strenuous past weeks catching up on him. It wasn't unheard of for people to sometimes see things. His childhood was not really something he liked remembering. He dreamt of it sometimes, the days in the underground still haunted him. And today, his brain had merely decided to go a bit further. He knew that if he shook his head a couple of times and looked back, the memory, a highly vivid one he had to admit, would be gone. But when he looked back into the corner where the boy was huddled with his bruised knees pulled close to his body, a frown had crept onto his young face.

Before Levi could make any further moves, the door to his bedroom opened. He wasn't expecting anyone to be home and was so concentrated on his guest, that it startled him. Hanji stepped out, a towel around her neck, as she dried her hair with it. So she had been bathing, at least one thing he could be happy about. As she smiled at him the boy got up, held onto her thigh with one hand and pointed back at him with the other.

"Hanji, who is that man?"

This knocked a little bit of air out of Levi. Hanji could see him? His younger self was not a figment of his imagination that would go away as soon as he had showered and rested?

"Ahh I see you've met. Well, that is not just some man. He is a very good friend, his name is L-," she began, but Levi decided to interrupt her. He didn't know why this urge suddenly overcame him, but he felt like protecting his younger self. It made no sense that they were both somehow in the same time frame next to each other even though a good twenty years lay in between them. He wasn't going to try and think about how this was possible, but the least he could to was disguise his identity.

"Lenny, my name is Lenny." He blurted the first name that he could think of that began with L and hoped that Hanji would get the message.

"Lenny?" she asked with a grin and frown on her face. "I... don't think you'll be needing an alias around a kid, Levi," she said amused. Of course this was going to be one of the moments Hanji decided not to use her cognitive functions and pick  up on what he was trying to do. Unless she hadn't actually noticed what was happening herself.

"Levi? But my name is Levi, too," his younger self said and hid further behind Hanji's leg. In his eyes lay a hint of fear and aggression.

"There is nothing wrong with that," she said and held the back of his head in order to push him back from behind her legs. "You two can be namesakes." Levi watched as her hands ran through the filthy hair of his younger self and a shiver ran down his spine. How could she just touch him like that? His skin was covered in soil and dirt and Sina knows what else flowed through the underground. It also surprised him, that Hanji hadn't seemed to have noticed the similarities between them.

"Yeah, I guess there is nothing wrong with that,"Levi finally said and moved away from the door for the first time since entering his home. He took off his boots in silence, but could feel the gaze of his own young eyes upon him. Hanji had crouched down as young Levi whispered something into her ears, cupping them like young children did when sharing secrets. Levi wondered if his younger self was aware of who _he_ was. "What are you whispering over there?" he asked after his boots had been put away neatly.

"Secrets," Hanji said and smiled.

"Yes, none of your business," young Levi said with a scowl. So even at five he would have sought out Hanji as his confidante. Young Levi continued to whisper as Levi took his bag and walked into his bedroom. Their eyes still fixed on each other curiously, but also as if both of them was waiting for the other to make a move. It was like looking into a strange mirror. Levi decided to make the first one.

"Fine, what ever lousy secrets you guys may have, I couldn't care less. I do however think that our guest is in dire need of a bath," Levi said as he looked for some soap in his drawers. How could they already have secrets?

"Actually, I agree with you. What do you think, Levi?" she asked.

"I already said I think he needs to...oh you were talking to him." Hanji was running her hands through his dirty hair. Again. He wished he could tell her to stop, but that would have been unfair. His younger self shook his head repeatedly saying no to the offer of the bath. Yes, this was before he had discovered cleanliness. His younger self was probably not even aware of the fact that he was so dirty.

"I'm sure you're hungry though," Levi said and crouched beside Hanji. This time his younger self nodded.

"Well then, before you can eat, you'll have to bath. I even have a new bar of soap," he said and handed him the pristine brand new bar. The boy took it into his hands, leaving streaks of dirt behind on it already. There was a glow in his eyes, he seemed intrigued.

"Is this my very own?" he asked. This was probably the first time he owned something of his own.

"You see, you even get your own soap," Hanji chimed in and smiled.

"Yes it's yours," Levi said and got up. Unexpectedly, his younger self held onto his hand, while looking at the soap. How was this even possible? How was he able to touch his younger self? How could they both exist in the same time frame? Time travel was not something he believed in, life had taught him that superstition was only for idiots. Maybe this was just some random kid Hanji had picked off the street after all, and he was merely projecting his own fears and memories onto him.

***

"This water is warm!" his younger self exclaimed as he sat down in the wooden tub. Another thing he had completely forgotten about. Warm water was a luxury after all.

"Sure, I hate freezing when I wash myself. So Hanji made this thing for me that heats water with the help on the sun. Only works on sunny days though." He wondered why he was telling him all this. He was just a kid after all. "Where are your parents? I'm sure they're already looking for you," he asked even though he already knew where they were.

Young Levi's lips clamped shut at the mention of his parents. He stared at the water that was still flowing into the tub around him.

"Don't want to talk about them? That's okay," Levi said and began to scoop water onto his own head. He had already been a street kid at this tender age. Without  a real home or anyone to take care of him all he had done was roam around and try to keep up with the older kids around him. As he applied soap to the long hair, he looked around for the scar. There is was. This was definitely him, this scar had come from some boys who were bullying him and left him for dead after hitting him on the head. It's a miracle it managed to heal in that sewer.

"I can wash myself," his younger self said. He was still stoically avoiding Levi's gaze, and it made him feel bad. He shouldn't have asked about the parents, he knew that. But wasn't that the appropriate thing to do after finding a strange child in one's house?

"Do you guys need anything?" Hanji asked stepping into the bathroom. "I prepared some food for us. Just some soup."

"No," younger Levi said matter-of-factly, fascinated by how the bubbles the soap was making.

"Hanji, come here," Levi said white getting up and led her into the kitchen. He stared at her for a long time, while searching for the right words to say. How could he explain all this to her without sounding like he had finally lost all his marbles.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just brought him in here like that. It's just I found him asleep at your door step and he looked so hungry and tired. I couldn't help myself. And even though he followed me inside, he didn't talk to me or move until you came. I'm sorry."

"Actually, that is not what I wanted to say," he said.

"No?"

"I mean, he obviously doesn't have any place to go, so...," he said and made a mistake of breaking eye-contact.

"Wait, don't tell me you're..."

"I'm what?"

"Well, I don't know. But I have a feeling you might be seeing yourself in him," she said bluntly. "He does kind of look like you, I'll give you that. And you even have the same name."

"It might be something like that," Levi said and folded his arms. "I asked him where his parents were, but he wouldn't answer."

"Poor thing," Hanji said. She was trying to put up a strong face for him, he knew it, but she couldn't stand things like abandoned children.

He wanted to ask what they were going to do with the kid. It's not like they could just keep him. And he wanted to tell her about how he had come to the conclusion that this boy was in fact him, a younger version of him. Do you believe in time travel, that is what he wanted to ask her. Only Hanji would take her time to listen to something that crazy and even try to find some sense in it, but Levi interrupted them.

"I'm finished!" he yelled from the bathroom.

When Levi entered the room, he found that the water had turned a greyish brown colour. How could so much dirt stick to such a tiny child? Young Levi on the other hand was clean and shiny. He lifted him out of the tub after a last rinse with some fresh water and wrapped him in a towel.

"My clothes!" his younger self exclaimed.

"You can't wear those anymore. Let's try and find something that will fit you."

Again the small hand held onto his large hand and followed him to the bedroom. He looked down at himself and noticed that they eyes of his younger self had softened a little. And he stared back serious as ever.

***

By the time they were at the table, Levi had managed to dress himself in the smallest t-shirt he could find.It had shrunken due to being washed it wrongly, yet still reached over the knees of the boy. He had also managed to put socks on him, but it ended there. Levi owned nothing that would fit the boy, obviously. Hanji was holding back laughter at this makeshift outfit, he could tell just by how silent and serious she was. She was holding it all in. Young Levi on the other hand was stuffing bread into his mouth with both hands. He probably wouldn't have noticed if Hanji was laughing at him, anyway. Levi wondered when he had last eaten. He probably had never seen a meal like that before.

"If you eat too fast, you'll get choked. Here drink some water," Levi said.

The boy just nodded in response, took a few quick gulps from his cup and continued to chew on the food, bringing his little fists to his mouth every now and again.

After trying to convince the boy to cut his hair, they settled on Levi's bed. Younger Levi had started to cry when he saw Levi with a pair of scissors in his hands. Hanji immediately aborted the plan and angrily took little Levi away from him. Now she was holding the story book she had once left in his shelf and was showing his younger self the cover image. He always insisted that she was too old for such things, but she said that she liked them, because she could travel outside the walls without even leaving her room. She had also opened a packet of cookies just for him.

"He'll get constipated, Hanji," Levi said as she handed his younger self a huge cookie.

"Don't listen to that old man," Hanji said. "He's just jealous, because he isn't going to get any." She said and put Levi on her lap. He was now wearing an old jumper on top of his makeshift clothes, with the sleeves folded. It was still much too big, but at least he was warm.

"Yes," Levi said while completely focused on his food.

"Don't teach him bad manners," Levi said. Although there weren't any manners for Hanji to ruin. He didn't have any to speak of.

"You're reading," Hanji said and handed him the thick book.

"I doubt I have a choice," he said.

"Nope," she said and laughed. This made even young Levi laugh.

"Anything particular you want to hear?" he asked and looked at Hanji and his younger self comfortably nestled in his bed next to him. A surreal sight.

"Something about the lost cities!" Hanji exclaimed.

"Yes, lost cities!" the younger Levi shouted even though he couldn't have known what that was about.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," they both said in unison. It was funny how he was completely under her spell already.

"Fine, once upon a time...," he began. He read for a good five minutes. By that time Levi had finished his cookie and was listening attentively. About the ancient cities beyond the walls that humanity had long abandoned. About the kings and princes who had lived there, and their adventures. Another fifteen minutes went by, young Levi moved away from Hanji, folded his legs and buried his head in his hands. Ten minutes later, he started feeling sleepy, his eyes closing even though he still wanted to listen to the story. Finally, he crawled back to Hanji and fell asleep.

Hanji held his tiny body and smiled. Levi tried to hold on to the image in front of him for as long as he could. Then he inched closer to give her a little kiss.

"Are you my parents now?" a voice came from underneath, interrupting them.

"Oh, did we wake you up? Sorry", Hanji said. He nodded.

But Levi was panicking slightly. They couldn't be his parents. Where ever he'd come from, he needed to go back. He needed to live there so he could become the Levi he is today. So he could one day join the military and meet Hanji and live through all the things that came with being him. If he stayed with them, he would live a happy life full of warmth and love. But wouldn't that change the past? Wouldn't Levi just cease to exist one day?

"No, we're not," Levi said finally, but the boy had already fallen back to sleep.

***

Levi couldn't remember when he fell asleep. Just that the last thing he had seen was his tiny self lying next to Hanji. But when he woke up the spot was empty. He jumped out of bed to search the rooms, but there was no sign of him. The old tatters were gone as was the used soap. He went back to the bedroom.

"Hanji, wake up," he said, still rubbing sleep out of his face.

"What?" she asked half asleep. Then it dawned on her. "Where is Levi?" she got up an began to look around.

"He's gone. I've already looked everywhere," he said.

"Why are you so calm? Shouldn't we look for him?" she said with slight panic in her voice.

"He's a street kid, I don't think he's used to living indoors," Levi said even though he knew it was a lie. Levi had probably enjoyed every moment of it. But his time had come to an end and now he had returned to wherever he'd come from.

"How can you say that? He obviously enjoyed himself a lot! And he was so tiny, will he be fine?"

"He has a family of his own, even if they're obviously worse off than us, they're his people."

"I don't know, he looked abandoned to me. We have to look for him!" she said and put on one of Levi's sweaters, ready to leave.

"Let go, Hanji!" he shouted. He didn't want to shout at her, because he knew she only meant good for him, but he knew this was not going to lead anywhere.

"It was you, right? You sent him away," it suddenly burst out of her. It took him by surprise.

"You know that even I wouldn't do that."

"Then why?"

"He'll come back. Trust me, he will. He knows where to find you. Before you know it, he will be right by your side."

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday, crumbsfiction! I hope you liked this little bit of Levihan fluff! *hugs*


End file.
